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USE
THIS GUIDE TO OBTAIN A QUALITY PUPPY FROM A RESPONSIBLE BREEDER
And
be aware that dogs are not "things." They are living creatures
who, by no choice of their own, are totally dependent upon us - and are
at our mercy - for their very survival, not to mention quality of life.
As pack animals, their mental health is dependent upon being with their
pack. That may be other animals, or it may be us. It is very cruel to
leave a dog alone all day. Dogs need a lot of attention. They need regular,
systematic aerobic exercise for at least 20-30 minutes, at least 3-4 times
a week, just to be healthy. Few dogs get the exercise they need for good
physical and mental health. Lack of exercise is the number one reason,
(then lack of training), that dogs become mischievous and burdensome,
and are then blamed, then dumped, and too often, killed. ("A tired
dog is a good dog.") Having a yard is not sufficient. Dogs do not
exercise themselves unless chasing something along the fence line, and
that, in and of itself, is a problem. To make good pets, they need training.
And most importantly, to be safe pets, they need early socialization.
Lack of socialization the first 4-6 months of a dog's life creates shy
dogs, which too-often become fear-biters, which, along with those who
were simply born with poor temperaments, are responsible for the majority
of the 4.7 million dog bites annually. (Sixty percent of victims are children;
Half of all kids 12 and under have been bitten by a dog; Every day more
than 900 people are hospitalized with dog bites; Every year 25 people
are killed by dogs.)
If
you can not be a responsible dog owner, please wait until you can be.
And
please don't breed out of greed or ego or for any reason other than to
improve the breed (i.e., to make the puppies better than their parents).
Most purebred dogs, and of course, all mixed-breed dogs, should not be
bred. The majority of dogs have some defect (in structure, temperament,
health) that should not be perpetuated. Dogs used for breeding should
be free of all defects - that's the definition of quality. ("Papers"
mean nothing; They are simply, and nothing more than, birth certificates.
Plenty of dogs have "papers," but are so poorly bred they actually
look like mutts.) And no human should ever breed any dog without veterinary/laboratory
testing and pedigree research to be sure that dog is free of (and not
a carrier of) genetic defects. FAILURE TO TEST/SEARCH FOR INHERITABLE
HEALTH PROBLEMS IS THE NUMBER ONE MARK OF A BACKYARD BREEDER. IT IS ALSO
THE MOST DAMAGING TO CANINES, AND THE MOST HEARTBREAKING TO PUPPY-BUYERS,
WHO END UP WITH YET ANOTHER GENERATION OF POOR-QUALITY DOGS WHO TOO OFTEN
DEVELOP EXPENSIVE, EARLY HEALTH PROBLEMS AND OFTEN DIE PREMATURELY.
We
have a severe pet-overpopulation crisis in the US; We slaughter thousands
of beautiful, vital, healthy dogs every single day. (Twenty-five percent
of shelter dogs are purebred.) Every puppy produced by a backyard breeder
and placed in a home takes the place of one killed in a shelter because
no one adopted it. And every puppy produced by a backyard breeder can
make more puppies, and those puppies can make more puppies and so on.
(And of course, backyard breeders, through their encouragement and the
dispersal of misinformation, have a knack for turning uneducated buyers
into yet more backyard breeders.) There just are not enough homes (not
to mention "good" homes) available for all these puppies. No
matter how hard one tries, only 30 percent of all dogs (and their pups
and their pups and so on) live their entire lives in the home to which
they went after weaning. Seventy percent will be given away or abandoned
or dumped along the way for one reason or another. (Common excuses are,
"We didn't have time for him," "He was too much trouble,"
"He kept jumping on us," "He bit my child," "We
couldn't afford him," "We had to move." None of these were
good homes to begin with. The buyers failed to socialize or train, or
they lacked time, money or commitment. Again, there just are not enough
"good" homes for all the puppies born.) Why not leave breeding
dogs to those with the ability and desire and quality animals to do so
at a "professional" level?
If
everyone bred only dogs with excellent conformation, and stable, correct
temperaments, working titles and clean health, we would have top-quality
dogs in this country. Get your dog evaluated by judges and trainers. If
he meets breed standard, and is healthy, and has the correct temperament
and drives, show him, work him, and get him titled. If you feel you have
what it takes to be a "professional" breeder, educate yourself,
and with enough experience in dogs, maybe you, too, could make a positive
contribution to your breed. But if your dog's only credentials are that
he/she is a great pet, then love it, socialize it, train him/her, exercise
him/her, give him/her the best in feed, comfort and veterinary care, but
for his/her own good (including better health - ask your vet!), and for
the sake of puppy-buyers, society, and all canines, get him/her spayed
or neutered.
Please
note: The same criteria may be applied to cat breeders.
Resist
the greed;
don't support backyard breeders,
and
certainly don't become one.
Copyright
© 1999 Victoria Rose, PO Box 4816, Auburn, CA 95604; ifind@foothill.net
Proud mom of the beautiful Dobermann Calidancer V Teraden, CD, OA, AD,
OAC, OGC, NJC, RS-N, GS-N, JS-N, CGC
(As a pup she cost $900. She is trained in obedience, agility, personal
protection, wheelchair assistance and tricks...And she is spayed.)
Document may be reproduced in its entirety (not in sections), as long
as the author is credited.
Please
note that Ms. Rose's occasional use of the word "it" when referring
to nonhuman animals has been replaced with the words "he/she"
or "his/hers."
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